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lulalu

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Posts posted by lulalu

  1. This is one of those areas where you just have to use trial and error. Energy needs vary so greatly. 

    We found exercise first thing in the morning (yoga, bike rides, running, switch workout games, treadmill) help followed by 45 minutes to an hour of free play time help greatly. Afterwards we are able to get about two hours of work done. I allow DS to move as he needs. We use chores as a short break to get energy out as well. And after lunch we try to get outside before finishing up school work. There have been seasons where he needed a lot more movement so we did sit ups and push ups while working on math facts, or jumping jacks while doing flash cards.

  2. 29 minutes ago, wintermom said:

    It sounds like a bit of a strange situation to get in the middle of, TBH. Can an uncle even have the authority to put a minor child on an airplane without a guardian being involved? I wouldn't want to drive 6.5 hours to find out that it can't be done. 

    Yes, we've done it before. You can drop off. We have also flown with our nieces before and no id is asked even though our last names are different. Flying isn't all that safe! Only the international flights asked for id of minors in our experience. 

  3. 1 minute ago, KSera said:

    If I’m following properly, dn is currently two hours from the airport? So her own dad would only need to drive two hours there and two hours back. Less driving than just one way for you, and a much more reasonable one day drive. I assume there is some backstory of why she is asking her brother rather than the dad doing it, but it seems like dad or someone else living where dn does is the best suited to do this. 

    Yes ex husband lives 2 hours from the airport. My sil doesn't do much talking to her ex (although they have kids together and should be talking more). 

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  4. 6 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

     

    I don't understand why all of you would need to go? I have done that much driving to and from Chicago or to bring kids to camp. It's a long slog, for sure. I've done such a slog many times. I don't think I'd drag all the kids along for a full day of just driving.

    Dh can do the driving part alone. He does most of the driving in our family anyways. But we only are renting one car right now. And renting another car for a day is expensive! We are not in a neighborhood where I feel comfortable without a car all day. 

  5. 6 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

    She has the right to ask, though it is a rather bold request. You have the right to say yes or no, whether you're free that day or not.

    That's the problem dh wants to say yes and I don't want to leave at 4:30 and spend 13 hours driving in one day! He sees it as an ok request where I see it as a situation where she needs to find solution that doesn't involve us. 

  6. 4 hours ago, Servant4Christ said:

    We are doing the grade 6 program in 6th, completing 2 stories a week. I spread out each story over 2 days. In the workbook, he completes the vocab skills sections on the first day and the reading skills sections on the second day. No stories/workbook assignments on a week with a composition and test. I allow 2-3 days per composition assignment to allow the process of brainstorm/first draft and edit/finalize. He typically gets to use the computer to type composition assignments because he's much more willing to elaborate if he isn't physically writing. I really like the program. It's definitely challenging, but it works well for us and really does show me where his English skills are being applied or are in need of more practice.

    Do you need the teacher's manual for reading in 5-8th? 

  7. 12 hours ago, Ellie said:

    Well, of course. 🙂 Reports and whatnot would ordinarily be written in science or history, because what would you write a report about in English? (other than, say, a term paper, but that isn't usually a frequent assignment, is it?). You learn how to do the thing in English, and then you use the thing for other subjects.

    Yes, I think one of the reasons many people say it is weak in writing instruction is that other programs that focus specifically on writing have assignments that last all year or an assignment each week. Rod and Staff does the teaching not the assigning. And I think most people miss that important little part. 

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  8. Rod and Staff is very thorough with grammar. And the writing instruction builds well each year. That would be a solid plan to use. We use it and love it. Many people use English and another writing because they haven't looked at all the levels. It does a great job of building each year. 

    Just keep in mind that it doesn't assign writing over and over in just the English. So you will learn how to write a report, oral reports, letters, etc. But then you will need to assign more outside of English to keep practicing as only one was assigned in English. 

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  9. Yes, when we lived in Central Asia we lived three years without indoor plumbing, toliets, running water,etc. It was very difficult. An outhouse wasn't the end of the world, but very uncomfortable during winter. 

    But disease was so hard to keep away. Because getting water from the well was a lot of work people didn't always wash hands. Laundry was too difficult. We had to do it in the city which was a several hour drive away. I enjoyed our time living there, it taught me a lot. I have respect for the peoples who have lived this way for millennia. But honestly I wouldn't choose to do that again. 

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  10. I think the best path is to relearn (or focus on areas you are weak in). Any textbook or program will only get you so far with a teacher who doesn't understand. But with a teacher who has understanding and can explain any textbook can become conceptual and great. The teacher's understanding and knowledge is what is important. 

    I would suggest reading through Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. It isn't a how to teach book, but it will give you areas where you need to improve yourself. 

    Then figure out if you need visual and hands on learning or if you need to hear explanations, etc. For us the best hands on method has been c-rods and Miquon followed by Gattegno books. This has given the visual and hands on experience that my son and myself need. 

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  11. 4 hours ago, lovinmyboys said:

    Yes moving overseas is more than I expected and doing with teens is even more. They have been fine (better than good attitudes)! But while I am trying to figure out life overseas I am also trying to figure out how to parent them.

    DS says he is happy so I guess I will let it go. I don’t really see him as a science kid but maybe that is what he wants. 

    Sometimes I feel unsure of when to step in for my kids. My default has always been to let them figure things out on their own. But there was an incident with one of my other kids several years ago when I should have stood up for him and I didn’t. I really regret it and that colors my perception now.

    My concern is that I came to Poland with happy well adjusted teens and I want to leave with them still that way.

    Moving overseas with kids is HARD. Give your whole family lots and lots of grace. Find other TCKs for your kids to talk with so they don't feel alone in all the stress and challenge.

    Raising Healthy TCKs is a great book. Lots of good ideas packed inside. 

    Your kids will struggle. It is normal. There is no way to know if you are protecting too much or too little. Keep in mind happiness with moving comes and goes. Obviously if a child becomes very unhappy or depressed change things up, but keep in mind there are cycles. When the newness of everything wears off unhappiness can come for a short time. Also, I have found with each move my son takes a good two months or so before he really can start learning new things again. Time change, changes to digestion from new foods, insecurity with figuring out the city, etc all take up his brain power. 

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  12. 6 hours ago, lovinmyboys said:

    My kids are at the American School of Warsaw. It has been a bumpy start for sure but I am hoping it gets better. It is interesting because most of the teachers are American but third culture Americans. A lot of them haven’t lived in America for years and have just moved all over the world to different international schools. I’m hoping it gets better. I just want to handle this the right way so it gets better and not worse. 

    I've taught in several international schools around the world. It is a hard job as there are many cultures and many third culture kid experiences all coming into play in classroom environments. And when teachers all have different cultural background informing the methods, reasoning, and goals of education it gets even more complicated! 

    I would talk with the director and get a feel for what the overall vision of the school is to see if it is compatible to your family's goals. For whatever it's worth I have decided to homeschool my son even though we still live overseas because of my experiences teaching. 

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  13. 12 hours ago, ByGrace3 said:

    My dh is an adjunct prof at a uni-- he just failed a student on an assignment for this. It is in the handbook as plagiarism. Apparently, you can plagiarize yourself... I thought it was crazy but it's true. 

    Interesting I would have never thought you could plagiarize yourself. Good to know (although I have no plans for furthering my education at this moment). 

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  14. This morning I was thinking about this a little more. You could spend some time figuring out if she has weak visualization skills. Drop spelling altogether for a short time so the stress isn't there. Make 2inch square boxes and draw inside them easy shapes. A circle dead center, next one have a line diagonal in the upper left corner, next one two small circles on opposite corners, etc. Have her look at one square at a time and then give her a blank square to copy it in. Also, have her do dictation of the square a few times. That will help you see if she can verbalize what she sees. If this is difficult then it might be she needs visual therapy, glasses, or just needs to work on holding images in her head of what she sees. 

    I'm sure you already know, but I will add just in case. Spelling is holding images in our head of the correct spelling as there are many possible ways to spell words in English. So if she can't hold an image in her head it won't matter how much she has read previously. 

     

     

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